Fresh details have emerged regarding the death of baby Travis Maina who had a fork jembe lodged in his skull.
Appearing before the Senate Health Committee on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) Chief Executive Officer, Evanson Kamuri, revealed that the late baby Travis could have been a victim of domestic disputes between his father and mother.
Kamuri argued that the level of injury inflicted on the baby could not have been caused by children as the mother alleged.
“It was a severe injury that could not have been inflicted by other children while playing,” Kamuri said.
He additionally underscored that the victim's mother lamented how her baby had been killed by her husband moments after she received the news of baby Travis's death.
“When we broke the news of the death of the baby, the mother started to scream in distress, revealing how her husband had killed her baby. She was wailing, saying how the ‘jembe’ was aimed at her,” Kamuri stated.
Kamuri additionally urged the senate to call for further investigations by an independent body so as to unravel the truth.
“It is an issue that requires to be investigated by another body….The mother needs to come clean about what happened. We are very sorry for what happened but we have also been asking ourselves questions," he added.
While responding to the Health Committee questions asked by Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago on why the minor was not rushed to the theatre, Kamuri told the lawmakers that the baby had lost so much blood.
“We first needed to give him blood. And being a baby, that process is much slower because, if we could have given him too much blood at once, there was a risk of cardiac arrest,” Kamuri stated.
He added: “We have CCTV cameras. You can take a look and see exactly what happened from the time the baby arrived at the hospital,”
Earlier claims on Travis
Earlier, Judy Muthoni, the minor's mother told the senate that her six-year-old son struck the baby with a jembe while playing at their family home in Kiambu.
The baby was rushed to Thika Level 5 Hospital for treatment, however, he was referred to KNH.
The mother who was accompanied by her sister at the time pointed accusing fingers at the hospital claiming that if the hospital had acted immediately after they arrived at the facility, the boy’s life could have been saved.
“In my opinion, KNH did not act swiftly and immediately. They took more time to attend to the baby. If they had acted fast, the boy would not have died,” she narrated.
Muthoni also alleged that the hospital subjected them to harsh treatment.
The Senate has vowed to investigate both claims further before drawing conclusions.
